PORT TOWNSEND — The Port Townsend Paper Corp., has named a paper executive with more than 30 years of experience the new general manager of its Port Townsend mill operation.
Carr Tyndall, currently plant manager for KapStone Paper and Packaging in Summerville, S.C., will assume management of the Jefferson County’s largest private employer March 30, according to a news release.
Tyndall was not available for comment on Tuesday but he plans to meet with the media and the public after his arrival in Port Townsend, according to company spokeswoman Emily Hayes.
“We do think that Carr will be interested in talking with the community once he gets here,” Hayes said in an email.
“He has a great track record of working with and being involved in local communities, but we don’t have any specific time set up as of now.”
Tyndall takes over from Roger Hagen, who retired in February after nearly two years at the helm.
“We are very excited to have Carr joining us and leading the Port Townsend Paper team to success,” Felix Vicino, human resources manager, said in the release.
“We’re confident that he will be a great asset in furthering our safety and production goals and making [Port Townsend Paper] a world-class organization.”
Hagen had been charged with bringing the mill up to a standard where it could be sold, a spokesperson said at the time.
Two weeks before his retirement, it was announced that the company had been sold from GoldenTree Asset Management, a New York-based equity investment firm, to a newly created paper products holding company, Crown Paper Group, created by the investment firm of Lindsay Goldberg.
Hagan, 61, took over in May 2013 from Roger Loney.
At the time of the sale Hagan said he planned to stay on as president, telling the Peninsula Daily News on Feb. 11 there would be no change in personnel in the near future.
When Hagan’s retirement was announced Feb. 18, there was no reason given for the reversal of that position although his assistant, Rita Hubbard, said at the time that Hagan would still be an active member of the Port Townsend community.
Hagan has owned a cabin in Brinnon for several years and purchased a home in Port Townsend.
During Hagan’s tenure, the company gained approval for a boiler upgrade and added new processing equipment.
Additionally, the company abandoned plans for the construction of an upgraded biomass facility, which was determined to be financially unfeasible, Hagan said at the time.
Tyndall holds a bachelor’s degree in paper science from North Carolina State University and an MBA from the University of Florida.
Hayes said she could not divulge Tyndall’s age. She said he earned his undergraduate degree in 1982.
According to his LinkedIn profile, Tyndall has worked at four paper companies since 1986 in Georgia and Florida, working up from shift supervisor to vice president of manufacturing services.
He has worked in his current job since March 2013.
According to the profile, Tyndall is an “experienced senior level executive with extensive manufacturing experience and leadership skills” as well as an “effective leader of people, teams, and organizations in a continuous improvement environment.
He also has experience in international customer service as well as standardizing multiple operations to implement best practices, the profile states.
The Port Townsend mill has an estimated 300 employees.
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Jefferson County Editor Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or cbermant@peninsuladailynews.com.